Academic Credentials
  • Ph.D., Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2006
  • M.S., Polymer Science and Engineering, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 2002
  • M.S., Chemistry, Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Mont., 2002
Additional Education & Training
  • Foundational GenAI badge (Coursera, 2024)
  • Fundamental of Economic Evaluation (Dow Inc., 2024)
  • Leading Strategic Growth (Exec Online, Columbia Business School, Credential ID 1-176662-465778-1717380946, 2024)
  • Aligning Work with Strategy (Korn Ferry, 2023)
  • USPTO Patent Agent Training via PLI (on-going)
  • Fundamentals of Finance for the Technical Executive (MIT, 2020)
  • Bates Executive Presence Assessment (ExPI™) (2019)
  • Six Sigma Black Belt Certification (Dow Inc., 2013)
Academic Appointments
  • Post-Doctoral Associate, Soft Matter Sciences and Engineering Laboratory - UMR7615, ESPCI, Paris, France. 2006-2007
Professional Honors
  • Santos Go Award, Polymer Science and Engineering Department, UMass, Amherst, MA, (2002), awarded to the best student of the year.
  • R&D 100 Awards - Vora Zzz™ 100 High Airflow (2017), MaizeCare™ Clarity (2022), ENDURANCE™ HFDD 4201 (2023), AXELERON™ DGDA 6321BK (2024)
Professional Affiliations
  • Member of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE)
Languages
  • French (France)
  • Spanish

Dr. Cardoen is a polymer scientist with over 17 years of industrial experience in a wide variety of fields including drug delivery, coatings and adhesives, home and personal care and wire & cable.  Dr. Cardoen partners closely with clients to support early-stage R&D research, intellectual property identification and prosecution, product development, scale-up, manufacturing, market introduction and product troubleshooting. Dr. Cardoen has extensive experience in acrylic, cellulosic, silicone and polyolefin chemistry, formulation and processing (extrusion and compounding) coupled with an in-depth knowledge of analytical and material characterization.

Dr. Cardoen has extensive expertise in polymer chemistry (including free and controlled radical polymerization, suspension and emulsion polymerization, anionic polymerization and olefin polymerization), material characterization (morphology, thermomechanical properties), processing (extrusion and compounding), formulation and application performance (aging, application-specific tests, root cause investigation). Through his years in industry, Dr. Cardoen has supported clients in various coatings spaces (architectural, industrial, wood, and elastomeric roof coatings), adhesives, home and personal care (rheology modification, surfactants for detergents, body wash, shampoos and conditioners, liquid laundry formulation, hair and skin care formulations) and wire and cable (polyolefin compounds for telecom and power cables ). In addition, Dr. Cardoen has researched technical issues related to microplastics and developed biodegradable products as potential alternatives to existing materials. Dr. Cardoen's chemical expertise also allows him to advise clients about evaluating and specifying alternatives to substances such as halogenated flame retardants, PFAS, anti-oxidants, and other chemicals associated with evolving regulations.

Prior to joining Exponent, Dr. Cardoen spent over 15 years at Dow Inc., contributing in the Formulation Science group in Core R&D, and then leading the Personal Care R&D group and later the Wire & Cable R&D group. While at Dow, several of the products he and his team have developed have garnered many accolades, including four R&D 100 awards. 

Dr. Cardoen's academic research was focus on self-assembly of hybrid organic inorganic block copolymer. In his early career, Dr. Cardoen focused on designing block copolymer for hydrophobic cancer drug and genetic material delivery at a biotechnology start-up.